Consumers hail govt order to display medicine prices

Consumers have welcomed the order to display medicine prices in private clinics and hospitals, effective yesterday, viewing it as a manifestation of the government’s concern for the people’s rights and welfare in obtaining health services transparently.

Most see this initiative as giving them more power to make purchasing decisions based on clear price information, in line with the principle of consumer rights.

A civil servant in Kedah, 48-year-old Norsyaliza Rosli said the move enables consumers to make price comparisons before buying the required medicines without hesitation or feeling cheated by unscrupulous parties trying to make a profit.

“When the government enforced this order, they can no longer manipulate the prices of medicine arbitrarily because they know that stern action will be taken against them. As consumers, we have the right to choose, so this is something we should support,” she told Bernama.

Sixty-seven-year-old Yasin Zamri, a government retiree from Pendang, said the move would help the less fortunate like him to compare prices before making purchases at the pharmacy.

“Sometimes, when buying medicines, prices differ on different days… It’s as if they are manipulating the prices. This is not right because everyone has the right to know the actual price of the medicine purchased and, if there is a leak, we can report it to the authorities to take action,” said Yasin, who suffers from diabetes and hypertension.

On Wednesday, the Health Ministry and the Domestic Trade and Cost of Living Ministry said in a joint statement that the Medicine Price Labelling Initiative at private healthcare facilities and community pharmacies was in line with the government’s commitment to execute price transparency.

The implementation of the initiative aims to empower consumers with informed choices by enabling them to know, compare, and select the best prices when planning their medication expenses.

Empowering consumers

Forty-seven-year-old Asrina Kartini Sulaiman, a civil servant in Sarawak, concurred as she views the implementation of the medicine price transparency mechanism as a form of empowerment of consumers’ rights to make choices, particularly for those with low incomes.

“For example, if the buyers have a low income, surely they have a budget and choose an affordable option. Medicines are getting more expensive, so when we display the prices, we can decide whether or not to buy them or continue to check the prices at other places,” she said.

Negeri Sembilan Consumers Association chairperson Khairuddin Yunus said the initiative is seen to be consumer-friendly, where they can make a choice to go ahead and buy the medicine at the clinic or ask for a doctor’s prescription and purchase the medicine from a pharmacy that offers a lower price than the private clinic.

“If you buy from the pharmacy, you’ll know the price of the medicines, but if you buy them from private clinics, you won’t know the prices charged and, like it or not, you’ll just have to pay for them.

“This new mechanism is welcomed because consumers know the prices of the services provided,” he said.

Making early moves

Some pharmacists admitted that they had begun displaying medicine prices since early this year.

Siti Sarah Romli, a resident pharmacist at the Taman Ara Jaya Azam Pharmacy in Tasek Gelugor, Penang, said the initiative had been implemented since February, by setting the list of medicines and selling prices into a tablet so that they can be easily accessed by customers.

“When we first heard about the implementation of the mechanism, we started compiling (the list of medicines and their prices). When it came into effect today, we were ready, although some details need to be corrected and added to the list to adhere to the government guidelines,” she said.

While she welcomes the government's initiative, Siti Sarah hopes that more specific discussions can be held with community pharmacies, particularly private ones, so that a win-win situation can be achieved following the implementation.

- Bernama

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